White Night
by Abare Killer
Summary: After “Copy That”, Trent thinks about his about love, secrets, trust, and rangerhood. Just a short little fic I felt like writing. Rating just to be safe.


White Night

Trent lay awake in bed, unable to go to sleep. A lot had happened that day, most of it good. The evil encoding on his dino gem had been destroyed, and now he was free of the evil, restraining power. Trent had with a lot to think about that night, and it kept him awake.

Finally, he thought, he could be free from the living nightmare of being evil. All traces of the evil encoding of the White Dino Gem were gone, and he could be free to use the gem as he would. Now, he could help the other rangers instead of hurting them. He smiled, and snuggled deeper into his covers, feeling safe and happy.

But then, his smile faded as he thought of something horrible. Even though he was good, he still had something he could not tell other rangers; he still had a secret. When the others found out about his father, Anton Mercer, being… He squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to think about it. Maybe they would never find out. Maybe it would stay a secret forever. But, in his heart, Trent knew that the other rangers would find out that he had kept this information from them, and then they would be angry and disappointed in him. More than anything he did not want to disappoint them. He wanted Dr. Oliver to trust him. Dr. O was such a strong ranger, and he had often shown kindness to Trent. Trent was touched that Tommy had trusted him when he turned good enough to allow him to go to his house, to the "Command Center" of the Dino Rangers. He would hate to see the look on his teacher's face when he found out that Trent did not deserve the trust he had given him.

Trent tried not to think about how Conner would react to the fact that Trent had kept such a big secret. Conner already didn't trust him, and he did not want to give him more reason not to. Trent just wanted to fit in with the other rangers, and he wanted them to like him and trust him. But Conner knew that something was wrong. Trent felt that Conner could tell that he had a secret. Those piercing eyes of his, that hint of distrust in his voice when he had said, "I guess we've got no choice"; Trent knew that Conner did not trust him and never would. But still, he would try to earn his trust, so that, maybe, when the secret came out, Conner would accept the fact that Trent had made a promise. He had promised his father that he would not tell the other rangers his secret. So he couldn't tell, could he? He was right to keep it a secret. Wasn't he? Trent was not so sure.

Now he thought about how Ethan would react. Ethan was the quickest besides Dr. O to trust Trent. He always worked with Trent on school projects, and Trent knew that Ethan wanted to trust him; he wanted to be his friend. And Ethan would never know how much Trent appreciated that. At least Ethan was someone who might understand Trent's dilemma. He would understand that Trent couldn't tell about his father. He could never betray him. Now, however, Trent regretted ever making that promise to his father. But, he did say those words, "I won't tell them your secret, Dad. I promise." Oh, how he regretted that now.

And what about Kira? Trent loved her with all his heart, and he wanted her to love him as well. He knew that she would be so hurt if she ever found out about the secret. He couldn't bear to know that he had hurt her. If and when she found out, though, he knew she would never want to have anything to do with him anymore. She would never speak to him again, and then all of his dreams and desires would be gone forever. He wished that they would find out soon, so he would not have to live in stress for very long. He hoped that Kira would understand and trust him, even if no one else did.

Trent could not help thinking that he was a terrible person. He had done so much already to hurt his friends. As the evil White Ranger, he had caused them pain and had much delayed the defeat of Mesogog. If it were not for Trent, all of this could have been over so much sooner. Trent realized that he did not deserve to have such good friends who were so quick to trust him one last time. He had done so much bad. Could he ever make up for it by doing good? He didn't want to think about it.

Trent felt sleep coming to him at last. In the end, before he closed his eyes, he decided to enjoy his time as the White Ranger. He would make the most of his power, and work harder than any of the other rangers. Maybe they would find out about this father being Mesogog, maybe they would not. But Trent resolved not to worry about that time until it came. He would have fun with his friends and with his rangerhood, and he would enjoy himself while it lasted. Trent's eyelids slowly drifted closed, and he at last fell into a deep, relaxing sleep. All of his worries and troubles could wait, at least until morning.


End file.
